In celebration of today being the first day of spring... here are a pair of cardboard firsts.
Let's start with this on-card autograph of Masanori Murakami:
2023 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Auto #08FF-MM
Back on September 1st, 1964... Murakami became the first Japanese baseball player to play in the MLB. In his first eight appearances as a relief pitcher, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out thirteen, walking one, and only giving up four hits in 11 innings pitched. That's a pretty impressive start to his MLB career.
According to this article on History.com, Murakami went home during the offseason to have his tonsils removed and signed a $40k contract with the Nankai Hawks for the 1965 season. This created legal problems between them and the San Francisco Giants.
He would return to the play for the Giants in 1965, but went back to Japan after the season was over. Although his MLB tenure was relatively short, his legacy is forever cemented in baseball history.
The other cardboard first is this framed parallel of Kevin Dyson and The Music City Miracle:
2008 UD Masterpieces Silver Framed #54 (#'d 01/87)
The silver framed parallels are serial numbered to the player's jersey number. Since Dyson wore #87... this card is numbered out of 87. It's hard to see, but on the back this card is #'d 01/87. That means it's the first card in the run, so it's headed into my Prime Number PC. I know that the number one is neither prime nor a composite. I just use the word "prime" to represent the word "key".
I also collect cards with serial numbers that depict player's jersey numbers as well as the final card in the serial number run like these two:
2008 UD Masterpieces Blue Framed #49 (#'d 150/150)
2008 UD Masterpieces Red Framed #19 (#'d 199/199)
As for the Murakami... I picked that up off of eBay back in January for $32 (free shipping + $3 tax). It's a card that I've been looking to add to my collection since I discovered it was on the checklist.
By the way... I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Murakami during his book signing tour back in 2015. If you're interested in seeing photos and signatures I purchased that day, click here.
Well that's all I have for now. Happy first day of spring and sayonara!
12 comments:
Enjoy the upcoming "break" you get.
That Murakami auto is wonderful! Would've loved to have seen something like that as a base card in Archives.
You could have fooled me that it's spring over here, but we're getting there. It's so cool that you got to meet Murakami. And Masterpieces was an amazing product. How fun to randomly find a case break worth of those out of the blue. Speaking of blue, that Desmond Howard would look even better with the same border as Elway!
That Murakami auto is so cool! Very special that you got a chance to meet him.
🚨 ⚠️ 📢 Ebay 1 of 1 Alert ⚠️ 📢 🚨
Bitchin' Music City Miracle card. UD Masterpieces are truly works of art 🎨
johnnys trading spot - thanks. i'm really looking forward to it. got some packages i need to "break" open
nick - me too! looks like topps included him in their living set, but i missed it.
dennis - is it still super cold out there? it's definitely warming up (during the day) out here, but i actually like cold weather. i was really happy to come across that box, because i knew there were some singles i had pulled, but just lost track of it. and yeah... that howard would look 100x better with a blue border.
gtt - yeah, i actually owe a retired blogger (st. louis cardinals' cardboard) for the opportunity. he's the one that told me about the kickstarter campaign that helped fund murakami's trip to the states.
xavier higgins - lol. i thought about writing "ebay 1 of 1", but held back :D i really miss ud masterpieces. heck... i miss upper deck having mlb and nfl licenses.
Good stuff. UD Masterpieces has always been a favorite They look great signed too!
Ah rediscovering purchased cards...the gift that keeps on giving!
Love the Mashi Archives. I need to track one down.
Nice auto of Masanori Murakami. I don't have many autos on cards, most of mine are on pictures. I think I'm going to have to step up my game on card autos.
That Murakami autograph is a beauty!!!
the lost collector - yeah... the canvas texture is perfect for signatures.
jafronius - yeah... it's always fun to dig through the collection and find cards you haven't seen in years.
nick vossbrink - they typically sell in the $30 to $40 range... but i've seen auctions end in the twenties. it looks like there are plenty to go around... but since he doesn't have many pack inserted autographs there's an interest for them. good luck.
michael d - i used to collect photos, but quickly discovered i don't have enough wall space to display them. that being said... i don't really display my signed cards either. but i do prefer collecting them over photos.
the snorting bull - i'm glad they used the 2008 topps design. one of my personal favorites. although it would have been cool to see them use the 1965 design where he's by himself.
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